


Avengers Cuddle Fest

by Jake_Matthews



Series: Avengers One Shots [9]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Pietro Maximoff Lives, Platonic Cuddling, Rare Pairings, Sleepy Cuddles, a shit-ton of takeout
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-14 08:52:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5737408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jake_Matthews/pseuds/Jake_Matthews
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a long arduous battle, all the Avengers really want to do is curl up in a big pile of cuddles on the sofa.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Avengers Cuddle Fest

**Author's Note:**

> So I saw a tumblr post listing things about cuddling that fanfiction often fails to mention, so of course I was inspired to write this giant pile of fluff with all the things off that list.  
> Tumblr post: http://thatwoodenguineapig.tumblr.com/post/137039330214/opalclit-things-about-cuddling-that-fanfictions

It had been a long and exhausting battle. The Avengers dragged themselves out of the jet, moving on autopilot as they walked off to change. Agent Hill appeared to be on the verge of calling them back, but Steve shook his head.

"Debrief tomorrow," he murmured, trying to sound commanding but exhaustion turning it into a plea. Hill frowned, unsure, but on seeing Hawkeye stumble and almost fall flat on his face as he exited the jet behind Steve, she nodded. Steve smiled weakly at her before turning to help Sam get Clint back on his feet.

Despite being exhausted from the fight, after ditching their respective combat gear and showering, pulling on their comfiest clothes when dry, no one quite felt like sleeping, at least not alone. So one by one they dragged themselves into the common room, heading for the comfy sofa and the warmth of their teammates.

Steve was the first to arrive, tucking himself into a corner of the sofa and hoping silently that it wouldn't be long before someone joined him. On a previous occasion he'd found himself waiting for almost an hour before Thor stumbled into the room wondering why his boyfriend hadn't come to bed yet. But on this night he had only just made himself comfortable when Natasha entered, flopping down practically on top of Steve, damp hair splaying across his face. He smiled as he brushed it away, arms coming down to circle Nat.

Next to join the heap was Tony, flopping across the empty part of the sofa with his head in Natasha's lap and his feet dangling over the arm of the sofa. When Bucky arrived a moment later, he shifted Tony's legs with his metal arm, almost throwing his boyfriend to the floor in his determination to lie alongside him on the sofa. Natasha adjusted her position, tucking her feet underneath Steve instead of Tony to make room.

"Oh, yeah, just jam your knee right up my crotch, this is fine," Tony mumbled as Bucky tried to reposition him.

"Shuddup," Bucky grumbled, twisting round and pulling Tony on top of him. There was a little more squirming as they settled into the new position, then contented silence occupied the next few minutes.

Wanda was the next to arrive, so exhausted she couldn't even use her powers to position a cushion from the other sofa at Steve's feet, having to physically drag it over. She leant her head sleepily against Steve's knee, until Vision arrived and scooped her up, settling down on the now vacant cushion and curling her against him.

When Rhodey arrived a few minutes later he whined at Bucky and Tony, "Oh my God, get up, you're taking up the whole sofa." As one Bucky and Tony flipped him off, and he groaned, before following Wanda's example and grabbing a cushion from the other sofa. He dumped it next to Wanda's and positioned himself so he could pull Tony's arm off the sofa and across his chest. He sighed contentedly as Tony patted him absently.

"S'okay honeybear, I got you," Tony murmured.

Sam and Clint arrived almost simultaneously, Sam arriving a few seconds ahead of his boyfriend and pulling the cushion off of the armchair to create a seat for them in the heap of snuggly superheroes. Clint swayed on his feet as he watched Sam positioning the cushions for them. They settled into position on the other side of Rhodey, Sam's head against Tony's thigh and Clint's resting against Sam's chest.

Pietro and Peter were the last to arrive, Pietro entering slightly ahead, and groaning loudly when he saw that the only available space was right next to his sister and her boyfriend. Not exactly the place he wanted to sit with _his_ boyfriend. He'd barely opened his mouth to complain when Wanda cut him off.

"If you wanted a better seat choice, you should have got here faster." Pietro glared, and at his feet Clint raised his head enough to say,

"You didn't see that coming?" The archer was grinning stupidly as he fell back against Sam's chest. Pietro gave him a gentle shove with his foot, but his expression was fond. Peter came up from behind and hugged him, pressing a soft kiss to the speedster's neck. Pietro smiled, then glared at the one available space. Peter grinned.

"I've got a better idea," he murmured as Pietro started towards the cushion. "Grab a blanket," he suggested as he turned to the gap between the end of the sofa where Tony and Bucky's feet were dangling and the armchair whose cushions Sam had raided. In the time it took for Pietro to locate and retrieve a blanket, moving at a more human pace than usual in his exhaustion, Peter webbed up a hammock between the furniture. Pietro grinned at him.

"I love you," he said as Peter laid the blanket across the webbing so it wouldn't stick to them.

"You're washing that blanket, Parker," Tony mumbled as the pair climbed into their hammock. The hammock began to rock, and Bucky used his foot to restrict its movement for them. As they settled down, Peter reached out and patted Bucky's shin to express their gratitude. Pietro yawned loudly as he laid his head on Peter's chest.

The room was quiet for a while, the Avengers content to just lie there, warm and safe and surrounded by people they love. Like most of the big fights they got into, the recent battle had been emotionally as well as physically taxing. Although they all understood the risks associated with being a superhero, and several of them had army backgrounds, it never got any easier to keep your focus on the fighting in your immediate area when you could hear or even see someone you cared about getting hurt, or swarmed by enemies, or doing something stupidly risky (Steve and Tony were particularly prone to this, something which Bucky in particular struggled with). Even when you knew they were more than capable of handling themselves, there was still that urge to charge at those who dared harm someone who meant so much to you. That urge, the rage they felt, was also part of what made them so effective in battle. It was why it was so important that they got along, and why they were known as the Avengers. 

But because of the emotional taxation, they all needed this. To just be together, to be reassured they were all okay and that they were safe. Time to just relax as a team - no, as a _family_. Because that's what they were now. Family.

Eventually, Steve tried to shift in his seat, and broke the contented silence with, "Mmpff, Nat, can you move, my arm is falling asleep." Natasha made a noise of protest, but shifted begrudgingly, allowing Steve to stretch his arm out a bit. She wriggled around a bit, trying to find a new position that was just as comfortable. Tony smirked up at her.

"See, this is why I sleep on Bucky's left," he announced. "Might not make the comfiest pillow, but a metal arm can't fall asleep." Natasha batted his head lightly as she settled down again. Steve cleared his throat awkwardly, the noise transitioning into high-pitched keen. Bucky raised his head slightly and laughed softly.

"Oh my God, don't move Nat," he chuckled, "FRIDAY, get a picture of this." 'This' being Natasha's hand which she'd inadvertently pressed into Steve's crotch. Natasha realised her mistake, and began apologising as she swatted Bucky.

"Oh my God, Steve, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to - are you okay?" Steve nodded, giving a slight hiss as he shifted his position again.

"Yeah, yeah fine. S'fine, don't worry about it. Not as if I was planning on moving anywhere soon." He smiled down at her, pulling her into a hug. All of a sudden he found himself missing Thor, missing his boyfriends embrace. But Thor had things to deal with on Asgard, and so Steve had only seen him briefly over the last year, and it had been almost two months since the demi-god's last visit. He lifted his head, facing up at the ceiling and hoping that Heimdall would see him and understand, and pass along to Thor the message that Steve was missing him. He closed his eyes, and gave a sigh as he dropped his head again, bringing his cheek to rest atop Natasha's head. No one commented, knowing what had Steve feeling down and having long ago run out of ways to comfort him. They were all worried about the lack of contact.

On the floor, Wanda had been dislodged from her position by Steve and Natasha's squirming, and shifted her own position on top of Vision. She resettled herself, burrowing her face in Vision's neck. She lay there for a moment before Vision nudged her, murmuring, "I can't breathe, Wanda." He sucked in a deep breath as she removed her elbow from where it had been pressing into his abdomen.

"Sorry," she murmured back, and pressed a kiss to his lips. She laid her head on his shoulder and settled in again, careful not to elbow him uncomfortably. "This better?" Vision nodded and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Tony was next to break the silence, several minutes later, with a gaseous discharge from his rear end.

"Did you just fart?" Bucky asked.

Tony blushed as he replied, "...Yes."

"It's okay," Bucky murmured, pressing a kiss to Tony's cheek. "Release your demons." There were scattered sniggers and eye-rolls at the exchange, until a few moments later when the smell reached Rhodey's nose.

"AUGH!" he exclaimed, pulling away from Tony, who whined at the loss. "Dude, that _stinks_!" Sam grimaced and pinched his nose in agreement, unable to escape the smell thanks to the exhausted archer slumped across his chest.

"Sorry," Tony murmured, his arm flailing towards Rhodey, hoping to wrap the man up in a cuddle again. "C'mon honeybear, _pwease_?" He pouted at Rhodey, who only continued to glare for a moment before giving in, shuffling back into position, hugging Tony's arm and leaning his head against the man's side.

Clint interrupted the silence moments later, giggling.

"What's so funny, princess?" Sam asked, already guessing at the answer.

"Can hear your tummy," Clint mumbled into Sam's chest, too tired to bother moving his head. Sam kissed the top of Clint's head.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I'm hungry."

"I'm not moving," Clint grumbled, hugging Sam tighter and burrowing his face deeper. "Mmpffrrm mm shmrr mrrdrr tmmffmm."

"What was that?" Sam asked, trying not to laugh too hard.

"I think he said - and if he didn't I'm saying it - 'Maybe we should order takeout'." Clint raised his hand in a thumbs-up to Pietro's guess. There were general sounds of agreement from the rest of the team, until Rhodey pointed out,

"Even if we get it delivered someone still has to get up to go to the door." This suggestion was met by groans, and cries of 'Not it!' or variations thereof, Steve even going so far as to protest crushed nuts as an excuse.

"FRIDAY, can you ask Agent Hill if she'll bring us food? We'll order it to be delivered, she'd just need to bring it up..." Tony said.

"She doesn't have to do it personally, she can delegate if she wants," Natasha added. The Avengers waited with bated breath for FRIDAY to convey Agent Hill's response.

_"Agent Hill has agreed to have someone bring your food up when it arrives."_

Cheers circulated the room. There was a brief discussion before Tony had FRIDAY put an order in for Chinese food. Lots of Chinese food. They settled down again to wait.

Pietro yawned loudly, his face right next to Peter's. Peter scrunched his nose up.

"You've got bad breath."

"I do?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. Just don't breathe on my nose so much," he grinned. Pietro pulled a face and deliberately exhaled right in Peter's face. Peter shook his head muttering, "You asshat."

"I'm _your_ asshat," Pietro grinned. He murmured something in Sokovian which, judging by Peter's shy giggle and Wanda's gagging, the Avengers assumed was rather lewd. Bucky raised his head, his eyes narrowed. He gave the hammock a gentle kick, making it sway slightly. Pietro swatted at his foot, then yawned again and curled against Peter, his eyes falling shut.

Satisfied that Pietro and Peter would behave now, Bucky lowered his head, burying his face in Tony's shoulder once more. Steve smiled down at him, reaching around Nat and ruffling his hair.

"Hey Buck, d'you remember when you used to think you were straight?"

"Shuddup, punk," Bucky muttered, face still buried in Tony's shoulder. If it had been anyone else, Steve wouldn't have had a clue what he was saying. As it was, he knew both what Bucky said and what he really meant.

"I love you too, jerk."

Steve's ribbing of Bucky got Sam thinking. He nudged the sleepy archer in his arms.

"Do you remember when we thought we were just friends, princess?"

Clint laughed softly. "Yeah, and there was that time... we went out, and when we got home we went, 'hang on, was this a date?'... We were idiots," he murmured, sleep slurring his words and a yawn punctuating the end of his sentence. Sam chuckled, pressing a kiss to his lover's head.

"M'glad we sorted ourselves out," he murmured.

Pietro wasn't the only Avenger falling asleep while the waited for food. Tony was nodding off in Bucky's arms. He was on the verge of sleep, dreams beginning to close in on him. He tried to sweep away the visions of aliens and killer robots, left arm jerking up.

"Huh! What?" Rhodey sat up suddenly, blinking as he looked around. He looked back at Tony, now awake and almost as confused as Rhodey. "What the hell, man?"

"Huh?" Tony looked at him with bleary eyes. Bucky laughed softly on his other side. Tony rolled slightly, glaring at his boyfriend. "What?"

"You were falling asleep. You twitched and spooked Rhodey." Bucky pressed an affectionate kiss to Tony's head. "Go back to sleep, love."

"Mm'kay," Tony murmured, lying back against Bucky. He left his arm dangling, and after a moment Rhodey crawled back to him, pulling the arm around him once more.

Most of the Avengers started nodding off over the next half hour, relaxing in the knowledge that they were safe, surrounded by family. They were all prone to nightmares on occasion, but having everyone so close-by, and just being so exhausted from the day's work, made the nightmares and the prospect of sleep just that little bit less intimidating. Rhodey rested his head against Tony's side and let his eyelids droop. Bucky had his right arm draped across Tony, reassuring the genius of his presence and himself of Tony's safety as they drifted in and out of sleep. Clint hadn't really been fully awake since exiting the jet, and was snoozing softly on Sam's chest. Sam didn't quite go to sleep, hunger gnawing in his belly, but he lay back contentedly, running his fingers through Clint's hair. Pietro was fast asleep in the web-hammock, and Peter was starting to snore quietly. Wanda was drifting in that surreal state of not quite being asleep, but not really being awake either. Vision smiled down at her. In fact most of the Avengers had smiles on their faces as they slept or watched their lover sleep.

Even Natasha had a smile on her face as she lay in Steve's arms, allowing the rise and fall of his chest beneath her head and the thump of his heart beneath her hand lull her into sleep. Steve teased his fingers through her hair, smoothing it out. Tony and Bucky were both using Natasha as a pillow, and Wanda was resting against Steve's legs almost as much as she was resting on Vision. It was an adorable sight, and it warmed Steve's heart to see it. And he hated to disturb any of them. But...

"I have to pee," he said, rather sheepishly. Bucky was awake as he said it, and Tony and Nat were both sleeping lightly enough to be woken. Tony groaned loudly, pulling Wanda from her sleep.

"What?" she complained, too tired to properly snap at Tony for waking her.

"Steve has to pee," Bucky supplied.

"Nooooooo," Wanda moaned, Tony and Nat seconding the sentiment.

_"I should remind you that your food will be arriving in a few minutes, so perhaps it's time you started waking yourselves up."_

Tony groaned again, and Steve began trying to extricate himself without disturbing anyone more than necessary. Tony and Bucky started dragging themselves up into sitting positions, Tony gently shaking Rhodey's shoulder as he shuffled round. Rhodey batted his hand away. Next to him Sam began to gently rouse Clint. Once Wanda moved away from his legs Steve brought them up so he was crouching on the sofa, and then climbed over the arm rather than attempt to navigate the mess of sleeping and sleepy superheroes in front of the sofa.

When he returned from the bathroom the food had arrived, and was being set out on the table. The agents whom Hill had sent to deliver the food were also kind enough to put plates, napkins and cutlery on the table with the food. In their hammock, Pietro and Peter still slept, while the rest of the Avengers were now sitting up, some still yawning slightly, and were settling down to eat. Steve's corner of the sofa was still vacant, Natasha likely guarding it with vicious glares to those who might think to steal it. He ignored the seat at first, instead thanking the agents for bringing the food up and beginning to pile food onto a plates for himself and Natasha.

As he passed Natasha her plate and began to climb back into his seat (going over the arm again as those on the floor were even more spread out now), he looked over at Pietro and Peter in the web-hammock. Peter seemed to be beginning to stir, no doubt woken by the sounds of the food being served and the smells. Pietro still looked pretty fast asleep, although he began to shift as Steve watched. Steve grinned as Pietro's fist bumped against Peter's jaw. Bucky glanced over his shoulder to see what Steve was grinning at.

"We should probably wake them," Steve said. Bucky nodded, and reached out to shove the hammock. It started swinging violently, startling both occupants awake.

"Huh, what?" Peter asked, looking around in confusion. Pietro cursed in Sokovian, hand gripping the edge of the hammock.

"Food's here. Thought you might want some," Bucky grunted, reaching out to take his and Tony's plates while Tony reclaimed his seat.

Pietro sat up carefully and looked around the room. "There's nowhere to sit now!"

"Give me a moment. Go grab us some food, I'll get it sorted," Peter muttered, climbing out of the hammock and thinking hard. Pietro went to the table, and when he turned back Peter had created more webs to tether the back edge of the hammock to the ceiling and the front to the floor, tilting it so that it served as a makeshift loveseat. "Voila," he said, gesturing grandly. At Tony's glance he said, "Yeah, I know, don't worry Stark, I'll clean it up."

"You'd better. D'you know how many complaints we get about you leaving webs all over New York?" Peter made a face at him. He sat down on the blanket still covering the webs and took the plates of food from Pietro, allowing the Sokovian to join him.

Pretty soon everyone had a plate of food in front of them, and the chatter died down other than occasional requests to pass napkins to those furthest from the table. They were all still pretty shattered, although the nap had taken the edge off for most of them.

Steve was about halfway through his first plateful when he heard an unnatural thunder outside. He froze, forkful of rice (he'd never got the hang of chopsticks) halfway to his mouth. Everyone else stopped as well, turning to Steve as he lowered his fork again.

"Was that..." He swallowed, mouth suddenly very dry. "Was that what I think it was?" He looked around at them all, barely daring to hope. It had been so long, could it be?

"I don't know, uh, FRIDAY?" Tony asked, internally praying that it was. They all missed him, and Steve definitely needed him right now.

_"I can confirm that that noise was Thor arriving via Bifrost. He will be joining you shortly."_

Steve scrambled to wipe his mouth, passing his plate to Natasha so he could jump off the sofa, ready to run into his boyfriend's arms. The moment the elevator doors opened to reveal Thor, Steve was running, slamming into Thor with such force he knocked the demi-god back a step. Face buried in Thor's chest he mumbled, "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Steven." Thor laughed and pressed a kiss to Steve's head, hugging him tight. There were tears in Steve's eyes when he raised his head to kiss Thor properly. Then he stepped aside, pulling Thor into the room. Thor took in the scene before him. "Ah, I see I have arrived in time for a feast!" The Avengers greeted him tiredly, and he looked to Steve. "You have been in battle today?" Steve nodded.

"Yeah, we had a battle. It was a pretty long one, too. How we got through without any major injuries, I don't know."

"It is good to see you all again," Thor said, beaming round at his friends. He caught sight of the webs, and frowned in confusion as he caught sight of Peter and Pietro. He glanced at Steve for clarification.

"Oh of course, you haven't met... Thor this is Peter Parker. He's Spiderman."

"Of course, the Spiderman! It is good to finally meet face to face." Thor strode over to shake Peter's hand. He peered closely at Peter's face. "I am no expert on judging mortal ages, but you seem awfully young to be as great a warrior as you are."

Peter swallowed his mouthful of food. "Uh, yeah, I am quite young still..." He coughed, uncertain of what to say. Thor beamed and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Well then it is good that you join us. Good that you have more experienced warriors around to help you find your feet in battle." With that, Thor turned to the table. "I hope you have enough for me to join."

"Should be enough, we ordered quite a lot. Grab a plate and tuck in!" Tony grinned up at Thor, who beamed back as he went to fix himself a plate of food. Steve clambered back into his seat next to Natasha, taking his own plate back from her. Thor perched himself on the arm of the sofa next to Steve. Everyone went back to their food, Thor respecting their desire for quiet. He knew how they got after long battles, and made the decision to give them their space.

Even with Thor's Asgardian appetite unexpectedly added to the mix, there were still some leftovers by the time everyone decided they were finished. Thor packaged them up and put them in the fridge, and stacked everyone's plates in the dishwasher. When he returned, Peter had severed the webs tethering the hammock in the upright position, and everyone had returned to the spaces they'd occupied before the food arrived. Clint, Pietro and Tony had already gone back to sleep.

"I take it we are sleeping here tonight?" Thor queried, bending to press a kiss to Steve's forehead. Steve nodded sleepily.

"Need people tonight," he muttered, drawing murmurs of agreement from those still awake.

"Okay then." Thor looked around, and spotted the gap between Wanda and Rhodey which Pietro and Peter had vetoed. He made to take that spot, but Natasha slipped down instead, jolting Tony awake. The genius glared blearily at her. She indicated for Thor to take her place on the sofa, and after some careful clambering he got in position, and Steve wriggled around to lean against Thor. Tony and Bucky rested their heads on Thor's thigh, and the demi-god settled back, relaxing for the first time since his last visit to Earth. He called out softly, "FRIDAY, turn the lights down." The lights lowered just enough that they could sleep more easily without being so low as to panic anyone.

In their big pile of snuggles, the Avengers fell asleep together.


End file.
